Whether you’re a new or an experienced content creator on YouTube, you’re likely well aware of the fierce competition that takes place amongst competitors for higher views on their respective channels on the streaming platform.
With approximately 3.7 million videos uploaded to the platform every single day, a whopping 2.1 billion monthly active users, and a bounce rate of only 31.29%, YouTube has become the second most visited website in the world.
However, these numbers also reflect the stiff competition amongst content creators from various niches. How, when, and why you’ve posted video content on your YouTube channel can make a significant impact on your overall views.
In this blog, we’ll share the seven essential tips that will help you improve your YouTube videos and attract more subscribers and viewers to your channel. Before we jump to the tips, we’ll also help you understand what does and doesn’t count as a view.
So, without further ado, let’s get right to it!
What Does and Doesn’t Count as A View?
Every time a viewer intentionally plays your video for at least 30 seconds, it’ll be counted as a view on YouTube. When you play the video you’ve posted on the platform, that will also be counted as a view. However, you can’t refresh the page, again and again, to cheat the system and get more views.
On the other hand, if a viewer watches your video more than once, that will be counted as an additional view each time. Moreover, the views on embedded YouTube videos and those shared on Facebook will also be counted.
However, YouTube’s algorithm has been designed to detect views that are automated, meaning a real human did not watch your video. Therefore, if someone or a bot keeps refreshing your video and a website auto-plays your video to increase the total number of views, YouTube will not count them.
It is pertinent to note that YouTube updates its analytics every day or two, so it might take some time for it to reflect the activity on your channel. Now that we know what a view is and isn’t, it’s time to take a look at how to make your YouTube videos better for more views.
7 Ways to Improve Your YouTube Videos
Every day, users watch approximately 250 million hours of YouTube. While this number might seem significant, if we take the monthly active users into account, it means that each user only watches 2 videos per day.
So, how can you ensure that your video is being watched by a significant chunk of your target audience and that you’re getting the desired daily views? Here are seven tips on improving your YouTube videos for greater views, subscribers, and likes on your channel:
1. Customize Your Content According to Your Specific Target Market and Niche
Optimizing your marketing strategy for YouTube entails selecting goals, which are precise and extremely selective, as well as content that will help you achieve the set goals. You’re not on YouTube for the masses; you’re there for your specific audience.
Your content, including your titles and variations of videos, should be ultra-specific and attract the right set of people to your videos. Your content should be extremely inclusive and customized according to the preferences and requirements of your target audience.
Of course, before you get to your content and video creation, you must determine your target audience first. This process could also include creating an audience persona with detailed information, such as your audience’s age, location, language, spending patterns and powers, interests, challenges, and stage of life.
Your content’s tone, language, flow, pace, and length will be customized to meet the needs and requirements of your target audience, create a stronger bond with the viewers, and build a sense of trust and thought leadership in your specific niche.
2. Improve Your Video’s Search Ranking with Relevant Research
While most people think of YouTube as a social platform, it’s also a search engine sharing some traits with Google. Therefore, just like content on Google, you also have to optimize YouTube content for search and integrate relevant SEO strategies.
Doing so will ensure your video ranks near the top of YouTube’s results list when your target audience types in the keywords you’ve chosen for your video. However, it is also vital that you know what your target audience is searching for; entertainment, inspiration, or tutorials.
A higher ranking in search results will ensure that your content is getting more viewers than your regular subscribers who are already interested in your videos and channels. It’s the best way to get new sets of eyes on your videos.
You can utilize SEO keywords, such as Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, and Ubersuggest, to base your future videos on what people are searching for and insert relevant keywords in your metadata, including subtitles, video descriptions, tags, and video title.
3. Don’t Forget to Benefit from Metadata
If you’re a content creator on YouTube, you’re most likely looking for more views. It’s best to learn from the most popular videos in the niche that you’re targeting. Visit your top competitor’s channel and sort videos by popularity to review their most popular video.
It is pertinent to note that YouTube wants to keep its viewers on the platform for as long as possible and thus it feeds them with one appealing video after the other. YouTube’s algorithm adds related videos, videos watched in the past by a user, and videos often watched together to the queue.
The former is something that’s in your control, so when picking your keywords, be sure to describe the overall category and video’s topic. It will also be useful to think of other words that your target audience might use to search for your topic.
A good way to collect data and learn at your own pace is installing a YouTube downloader for mac and storing YouTube videos on your device[s] for off-platform and offline usage. A good YouTube downloader, such as Softorino YouTube Converter PRO [SYC PRO] will let you download metadata and subtitles of subtitled videos, which with help you study each video, its metadata, and other information in detail as well as refer back to them when needed.
4. Include Custom Thumbnails in Your Videos
When your target audience is discovering new content on YouTube – skimming through recommendations and search results – thumbnails will play a significant role in determining what they want to watch.
You should steer clear of cluttered information and screaming fonts in your thumbnails and remember to keep it accurate and clear. Your thumbnail should precisely represent what the video is about, so don’t include any misleading and clickbait-y thumbnails that will make your viewers annoyed and stop watching your video [YouTube will pick that up!].
The thumbnail should also work in tandem with the title of the video and stand out amongst other similar videos. You can make your thumbnails stand out by picking a bright color, a high-resolution image, a facial expression that sparks curiosity, or high-key visuals.
Your thumbnails as well as your channel will stand out the most if it’s a minimalist, calm voice of reason.
5. Use End Screens and Cards to Direct Traffic to Other Videos
While you can use playlists to direct traffic to the videos on your channel, end screens and cards will also play a major role in this – especially if you’ve only posted a few videos on the platform. In fact, these are the only tools that you can use to directly influence your target audience’s choices and bypass YouTube’s algorithm.
Cards are interactive and clickable parts in a video that can appear at any time you choose. You can use them to sell your merch or raise funds. However, since we want to increase views and make our videos better in every aspect, it’s best to stick to cards that are linked to other videos on your channel or a playlist you’ve posted.
It is pertinent to note that your cards should add value and not look or feel spammy. The linked videos or playlists should be relevant to the content of the current video and offer additional entertainment or information for your viewers.
You can also add a link card at a specific point in your videos if you notice that there’s a significant retention problem there. Moreover, the end screen should include a CTA for your viewers in order to encourage them to lean toward the desired action.
You can use the end screen to ask your viewers to subscribe to your channel, leave a like on the video, or share the video on other platforms. The end screen can also be used to promote other playlists or videos on your channel. It’ll be best to give your viewers 2-4 options to choose from.
6. Make Unique, Valuable Videos That Nobody Else Is Making
How-to content will most likely appear numerous times when you’re researching and collecting data pertaining to your target keywords. The reason behind this is that there is a significant search volume for how-to tutorials and content.
While you’re trying to attract new viewers to your content, it’s also essential that you cater to the converted audience that has moved forward from how-to videos. The value-added features of your brand on YouTube will be presented in the form of content that is essential to people who have already subscribed to your channel and are already your fans.
You should go above and beyond to make your how-to videos as attractive, interesting, and unique as possible and add as much value for your fans and subscribers as you can. For example, you could make a simple recipe video OR you can choose to share intimate details about yourself, sit down with your partner, or address a social issue/topic while you’re cooking something for your audience.
All of this will give your viewers unique insights and an intimate experience through your channel. It adds value and offers viewers information in an entertaining manner. It is, however, vital that you determine which topics or themes that will be perfect for your target audience can be added to your video.
7. Build A Relationship with Your Target Audience
Building relationships or audience engagement is vital in making your videos stand out and increasing your overall views. Your videos will automatically hit a chord with your target audience if they have a clear idea of who you are, what your content is about, and the message that you’re trying to convey.
Building a relationship with your audience is also a sustainable, organic, and realistic way of increasing your views on the platform. So, engage with other YouTubers, including commenters and other content creators, to make your viewers fall in love with your brand and consequentially subscribe to your channel and watch more videos you’ve posted on the platform.
You can create a two-two conversation with other YouTubers by including other creators’ content in your videos [with their permission, making reaction videos, running a YouTube contest, and replying to comments. Depending on your target audience, you can also look for other ways to connect with your audience in a meaningful way.
Moreover, people tend to automatically relate to content creators who come off as genuine and authentic, so it’s vital that you be yourself. You should sound calm but also spontaneous – in short, less like a robot. It’s not always about the content but also about who you are and the person presenting the information to the viewers.
Concluding Thoughts
In conclusion, if you’re trying to improve your YouTube videos to get greater end results, it’s always best to scrutinize and improve every aspect of content creation. This includes determining your target audience, writing the video scripts, and all the marketing strategies you use.
We hope this article has helped you understand how you can potentially make your videos appear better in order to increase your number of fans, followers, subscribers, and viewers. Stay tuned if you’re looking for more insights on related topics!